Uta Landy

When There's a Heartbeat: Miscarriage Management in Catholic-Owned Hospitals

As Catholic-owned hospitals merge with or take over other facilities, they impose restrictions on reproductive health services, including abortion and contraceptive services. Our interviews with US obstetrician-gynecologists working in Catholic-owned hospitals revealed that they are also restricted in managing miscarriages. Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees denied approval of uterine evacuation while fetal heart tones were still present, forcing physicians to delay care or transport miscarrying patients to non-Catholic-owned facilities. Some physicians intentionally violated protocol because they felt patient safety was compromised. Although Catholic doctrine officially deems abortion permissible to preserve the life of the woman, Catholic-owned hospital ethics committees differ in their interpretation of how much health risk constitutes a threat to a womans life and therefore how much risk must be present before they approve the intervention.

Administrative, counseling and medical practices in National Abortion Federation facilities.

A survey of members of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), most of them non-hospital facilities, responsible for performing almost half of the abortions in the United States, was carried out by the NAF in 1981. Among the principal findings were the following: Fifty-three percent of the NAF facilities are freestanding clinics operated for profit. Fifty-one percent are open more than 50 hours per week, and 77 percent are open six days a week; 86 percent are open on Saturdays. Seventy-five percent of the physicians performing abortions in these facilities are gynecologists. Counseling provided by specially trained abortion counselors is a unique contribution of abortion facilities to health-care delivery. Virtually all facilities employ counselors who are neither doctors nor nurses. Most NAF facilities have more counselors than nurses and more nurses than doctors. Counseling in virtually all facilities includes providing written as well as verbal information about the nature of the procedure and its medical risks; such information is given to the patient so that she can give informed consent for the abortion. Almost all facilities include information about contraception and about the options available to a woman with a problem pregnancy. Most offer counseling to the male, as well as the female partner, on the patients request. Twenty-eight percent of facilities generally provide both individual and group counseling. Where only one type of counseling is provided, it is usually individual counseling.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Availability and characteristics of abortion training in US ob-gyn residency programs: a national survey

OBJECTIVE To assess the availability and characteristics of abortion training in US ob-gyn residency programs. METHODS We surveyed fourth-year residents at US residency programs by email regarding availability and type of abortion training, procedural experience and self-assessed competence in abortion skills. We conducted multivariable, ordinal logistic regression with general estimating equations to determine individual-level and resident-reported, program-level correlates of quantity of uterine evacuation procedures done during residency. RESULTS Three hundred sixty-two residents provided data, representing 161 of the 240 residency programs contacted. Access to training in elective abortion was available to most respondents: 54% reported routine training--where abortion training was routinely scheduled; 30% reported opt-in training--where training was available but not routinely integrated; and 16% reported that elective abortion training was not available. Residents in programs with routine elective abortion training and those who intended to do abortions before residency did a greater number of first-trimester manual uterine aspiration and second-trimester dilation and evacuation procedures than those without routine training. Similarly, routine, integrated training, even for indications other than elective abortion, correlated with more clinical experience (all p<.01, odds ratio and confidence interval shown below). CONCLUSION There is a strong independent relationship between routine training and greater clinical experience with uterine aspiration procedures.

Impact of partial participation in integrated family planning training on medical knowledge, patient communication and professionalism

INTRODUCTION Obstetrics and gynecology residency programs are required to provide access to abortion training, but residents can opt out of participating for religious or moral reasons. Quantitative data suggest that most residents who opt out of doing abortions participate and gain skills in other aspects of the family planning training. However, little is known about their experience and perspective. METHODS Between June 2010 and June 2011, we conducted semistructured interviews with current and former residents who opted out of some or all of the family planning training at ob-gyn residency programs affiliated with the Kenneth J. Ryan Residency Training Program in Abortion and Family Planning. Residents were either self-identified or were identified by their Ryan Program directors as having opted out of some training. The interviews were transcribed and coded using modified grounded theory. RESULTS Twenty-six physicians were interviewed by telephone. Interviewees were from geographically diverse programs (35% Midwest, 31% West, 19% South/Southeast and 15% North/Northeast). We identified four dominant themes about their experience: (a) skills valued in the family planning training, (b) improved patient-centered care, (c) changes in attitudes about abortion and (d) miscommunication as a source of negative feelings. DISCUSSION Respondents valued the ability to partially participate in the family planning training and identified specific aspects of their training which will impact future patient care. Many of the effects described in the interviews address core competencies in medical knowledge, patient care, communication and professionalism. We recommend that programs offer a spectrum of partial participation in family planning training to all residents, including residents who choose to opt out of doing some or all abortions. IMPLICATIONS Learners who morally object to abortion but participate in training in family planning and abortion, up to their level of comfort, gain clinical and professional skills. We recommend that trainers should offer a range of participation levels to maximize the educational opportunities for these learners.

Opting out of abortion training: benefits of partial participation in a dedicated family planning rotation for ob-gyn residents

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to describe the experiences of residents who opt out of some components of a dedicated abortion rotation. STUDY DESIGN Eligible residents at programs receiving funding from the Kenneth J. Ryan Residency Training Program in Abortion and Family Planning were invited to complete a cross-sectional, online survey. RESULTS The majority of residents who opted out of some portion of the family planning training reported that the rotation positively affected skills in pregnancy options counseling, cervical dilation, first-trimester ultrasound, techniques of first-trimester uterine evacuation and other skills. Twenty-one of the 65 (31%) did an elective abortion, and 56 (84%) completed aspirations for at least one non-elective indication including therapeutic abortion and miscarriage. While no resident desired additional elective abortion training, 11 (16%) wanted additional uterine aspiration and 14 (21%) wanted additional second-trimester uterine aspiration training for non-elective indications. CONCLUSION Providing access to an abortion rotation for residents who do not plan to do elective abortions gives them the opportunity to improve their skills in family planning, therapeutic abortion and miscarriage management.

Medical education and family planning: Developing future leaders and improving global health

Well‐trained medical professionals are key to improving global reproductive health and reducing rates of unsafe abortion, but medical training often fails to prepare practitioners to provide essential family planning services. The field of medical education is currently undergoing reformation to better meet the needs of a global population, and comprehensive, integrated family planning training will be an important part of those reforms. Family planning training is not only vital to address global reproductive healthcare demand, but integrates effectively with cornerstones of current medical education reform: competency‐based education, leadership development, collaboration with practitioners of all levels, and global health context. Examples of successful integration of family planning education are outlined, and recommendations for integrating family planning into medical education detailed at the 2012 FIGO World Congress are discussed.

The future of contraception: the future leaders of family planning

The University of California, San Francisco, initiated a Fellowship in Family Planning in 1991, and since then 23 academic teaching hospitals across the country have adopted the 2 year program model for training obstetrician-gynecologist physicians in a subspecialty focused on contraception and abortion. The program follows a curriculum that includes clinical practice, research, and international work. This review includes information about the Fellowship in Family Planning as well as research opportunities available from academia, independent foundations, and government related sources.

Multi-specialty family planning training: collaborating to meet the needs of women

Multi-specialty family planning training: collaborating to meet the needs of women Jody Steinauer⁎, Christine Dehlendorf , Kevin Grumbach, Uta Landy, Philip Darney Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA

Abortion training in US obstetrics and gynecology residency programs

BACKGROUND: Nearly 15 years ago, 51% of US obstetrics and gynecology residency training program directors reported that abortion training was routine, 39% reported training was optional, and 10% did not have training. The status of abortion training now is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the current status of abortion training in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs. STUDY DESIGN: Through surveying program directors of US obstetrics and gynecology residency training programs, we conducted a cross‐sectional study on the availability and characteristics of abortion training. Training was defined as routine if included in residents’ schedules with individuals permitted to opt out, optional as not in the residents’ schedules but available for individuals to arrange, and not available. Findings were compared between types of programs using bivariate analyses. RESULTS: In all, 190 residency program directors (79%) responded. A total of 64% reported routine training with dedicated time, 31% optional, and 5% not available. Routine, scheduled training was correlated with higher median numbers of uterine evacuation procedures. While the majority believed their graduates to be competent in first‐trimester aspiration (71%), medication abortion (66%), and induction termination (67%), only 22% thought graduates were competent in dilation and evacuation. Abortion procedures varied by clinical indication, with some programs limiting cases to pregnancy complication, fetal anomaly, or demise. CONCLUSION: Abortion training in obstetrics and gynecology residency training programs has increased since 2004, yet many programs graduate residents without sufficient training to provide abortions for any indication, as well as dilation and evacuation. Professional training standards and support for family planning training have coincided with improved training, but there are still barriers to understand and overcome.

The fellowship in family planning.

The Fellowship in Family Planning (FFP) was established in 1991 at the University of California San Francisco in 1991 to specifically focus on clinical training and research in abortion and contraception. The goals of the fellowship awarded to postgraduates of US residency programs are to develop subspecialists focused on research teaching and clinical practice in contraception and abortion. The FFP community has made substantial contributions to family planning research in the USA while continuing its focus on global health. Copyright